Rockets report: Slow starts still bedeviling

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The Rockets are having trouble setting the tone of the game early. (AP Photo/Paul Connors)

The Rockets’ problems on Sunday against Golden State when they made just 13 percent of their shots in a 10-point first quarter were different than in their previous slow starts.

But it reminded them of the need to start better than they have in the last 10 games.

In that stretch, the Rockets have allowed 50.7 percent shooting in the first quarter, giving up the fifth-most points per possession. They have been outscored in six of their last eight first quarters.

“I don’t know. If I had an answer for you, I feel like we would have solved it by now,” guard Jeremy Lin said of the early-game issues. “I think the starting unit has to look at ourselves, including me. It starts with me, and this next game against Utah has to be one where we’re going to do whatever it takes to get out to an early lead. That has to be how it is. We have to will our way to that.

“You can’t be down 20-something and then be like, ‘Oh, OK, now let’s play.’ I’m really talking to myself when I say that. I don’t know what it is. Coming out in the first quarter, taking the temperature of the game and the feel of the game, it’s can’t be that. It has to be like we have our backs against the wall.”

The Rockets rallied from down 20 to beat the Timberwolves and from a 23-point deficit to within five against the Warriors before they were blown out in the fourth quarter. Their six-game losing streak in January was preceded by consecutive comebacks from 17-point deficits, giving them a sense they cannot keep falling behind quickly.

“It was terrible,” forward Chandler Parsons said of Sunday’s start. “We came out so flat. We didn’t play with any energy. Our effort needs to be much better than that, especially with what’s at stake.”

Rest day better than practice

With two days between games, coach Kevin McHale decided the Rockets needed a day off Monday more than a practice day and decided after Sunday’s loss to get back to work Tuesday.

“The coach said we have to get a mental rest,” forward Donatas Motiejunas said. “We just have to think through what we need to accomplish, look at ourselves and come Tuesday and work … and get ready for the next game. Coach gave us the day off to prepare for the next fight. They (the Jazz) are fighting to get to the playoffs, too. It’s going to be a tough game.”